Characteristics seen in Hamlet throughout the play

Hamlet by William Shakespeare.

By: Richard Howes.

I have been studying the text of Hamlet and the following characteristics are what he shows throughout the play.

We see that Hamlet can be ‘Nationalist’. He is being nationalist when he is criticising Denmark and says it is a drinking country which is saying he does not trust them much. He is also like this when he says that Norway is robbing the land from Denmark, so this is then proving that Claudius is weak and so they might as well lose all their land.

Hamlet is being very nationalist, when he says that Denmark is like a prison. This means that he feels as if he has no freedom to do what you want to do.

Hamlet can be loving towards his friends and family easily, except to his uncle. He can be loving in a friendly way towards Horatio. He shows love towards his mother all throughout the play. He is being loving because he does not want his mother to flirt and have sex with his uncle so close after his father’s death. Hamlet says he is disgraced and when he confronts his mother in her bedroom, he asks her questions about his uncle. He then sees movements behind the curtains and thinks that it is his uncle who is too scared to face him, and so he draws his sword and stabs the person behind the curtain only to find out that it was Ophelia’s father (Polonius). He then plays around with his uncle and he acts as if he is mad and he will not tell him where the body is.

I think Hamlet killed the person behind the curtain because he thought it was time to get revenge for his father, by killing his uncle. So this was the right thing to do, but only if he definitely knew who was behind the curtain in his mother’s bedroom.

He is seriously in love with Ophelia, and both she and Hamlet admit their love for each other. Hamlet expresses his love for Ophelia on page 187 Act 5 Scene 1:

"Forty thousand brothers Could not with all their quantity of love make up my sum."

Earlier on in the ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

He is seriously in love with Ophelia, and both she and Hamlet admit their love for each other. Hamlet expresses his love for Ophelia on page 187 Act 5 Scene 1:

"Forty thousand brothers Could not with all their quantity of love make up my sum."

Earlier on in the play, Hamlet shows his love for Ophelia his girlfriend. The second time he expresses his love for her was at her funeral. This was in front of everyone and then a fight ensued between Hamlet and Laertes.

Ophelia shows her love for Hamlet on page 84(Act 1 Scene 3). She also tells everyone that Hamlet has said he loves her.

Hamlet is very religious and he goes to a Protestant school in Wittenberg, but on the other hand he is a Catholic because when he is going to kill his uncle in a religious place he realises he will go to heaven. This was on page 144. Act 3 Scene 3:

“Now might I do it pat, now ‘a is a-praying… I, his sole son, do this same villain send To Heaven…”

We see that when Hamlet finds the ghost he is very shocked by it and yet he still does what it says. He tells his friends that it is real and to believe in it, which also proves he is religious. Throughout the play, he uses two different religions, which are found to be; Protestant and Catholic.

Hamlet can be very sarcastic and intelligent in the play especially when Polonius asks him what he is reading, and he replies with “Words!” This then leads Polonius to start quizzing Hamlet on ting about him and Ophelia. Therefore, the answers that Hamlet gives Polonius he then goes and tells them to King. Due to the answers, that Hamlet has given leads to Polonius to say it proves that Hamlet is mad. So the King and Polonius set up a trap for Hamlet to fall into by getting Ophelia to ask Hamlet questions, but Hamlet plays smart and so he gives weird answers which leads people to think he is mad and then he uses it against his uncle at the end of the play. Hamlet is also intelligent when he is being sent to England by boat because he reads the Kings notes on what they have to do to him and then he changes the notes to what he wants them to say, so this is Hamlet playing smart. He then seals the envelopes, by using his ring to put an indent into the wax on the page so it looks as if it was from the King. The page where he finds out about the letter was; Page 153 Act 3 scene 4:

“There’s letters sealed… Let it work.” At this time, he was talking to his mother.

Hamlet is also intelligent when he gets the actors to act out the death of his father. By doing this he can find out if his uncle is guilty or innocent. By doing this and constantly taking to the King, he is using his educated mind to find out the truth.

Therefore, throughout this play we see that Hamlet can use a lot of emotions and characteristics. When Hamlet uses them, they are used with power and forcefully to make an effect on who ever he is talking to. He makes an impact most of the time except from when everyone thinks he is mad they just think that he is talking rubbish. His intelligence brings out the best in him especially when he gets the play put on for his uncle.

So in my opinion Hamlet is smart and very intelligent.